


The Drunk Santa Type

by leveloneandup



Series: Milestones [1]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: ER Docter, F/F, Holidays, Paramedic - Freeform, Santa Claus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leveloneandup/pseuds/leveloneandup
Summary: Christen has just transferred as an ER resident when Tobin returns as a paramedic. Christen is never anything but professional at work but that doesn't stop Tobin from trying.
Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Series: Milestones [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164467
Comments: 69
Kudos: 428
Collections: Preathfics Winter 2020 Collection





	1. This Christmas

It’s been four months since she’s transferred and Christen has a nice routine. She goes to the hospital, she has good relationships with all the other doctors and nurses in the ER and has really made a name for herself as an ER resident here, she goes home, she does yoga, she reads her books, and she decompresses. She likes to keep her personal life and professional life separate which is why she always politely declines the offers to hang out at the bar with the other nurses and doctors. She came here to get away from the noise and with no one knowing her in this city, outside of work, she is able to sit in the quiet of her apartment. And she loves it. 

Just as Thanksgiving approaches, her routine starts to include a certain paramedic, even though she doesn’t plan it. 

Tobin comes back. From where, Christen doesn’t know but all the nurses and doctors welcome the paramedic back. Christen is not one for gossip so she doesn’t ask. She doesn’t listen in on the conversations that Tobin is having while trying to catch up with almost everyone on the ER floor. 

But Christen can’t _not_ listen to her when Tobin is right in front of her. “Hey,” Tobin ducks her head to try and read her ID badge, “Christen. I’m Tobin.” She sticks her hand out for Christen to shake.

Christen politely shakes her hand, “Dr. Press is fine.”

“Oh, sorry. Dr.Press. Just wanted to introduce myself. You’ll be seeing me a lot more around here, again.” Tobin catches herself, a little nervous in front of the doctor, “Well, not again for you, since you just got here a few months ago, I guess.”

“It’s nice to meet you Tobin. I’ll see you around then?” Christen walks away to tend to a patient after Tobin nods.

Tobin leans over to the nurse across the counter, “Hey, Linds. What’s the deal with Dr. Press?”

Lindsey looks in Christen’s direction and back and Tobin and just says, “She’s really good.”

“Yeah, but what’s her deal?” Tobin tries again.

Lindsey sees something in Tobin’s expression but can’t quite place it. “I don’t know. She’s kind of private.” Lindsey stands up, “I gotta go. Welcome back, Tobes.” 

Tobin nods, “Thanks.” She looks back in Christen’s direction one more time before turning to head out to her ambulance.

In the coming weeks, Christen finds her work day to be sprinkled with Tobin coming up to her or waiting for her whenever her ambulance is parked outside. 

After offloading a patient to another doctor, she would find Christen on her way out and try to talk to her. If she offloads a patient to Christen herself, she’ll wait for Christen at the nurse’s counter. 

She has tried to invite Christen out to the bar with the other nurses, doctors, and, as Christen learns, some of the paramedics as well. Instead of telling her ‘no’ like she does when anyone else tries to invite her, Christen always seems to give her a response that is a borderline ‘maybe.’ The nurses are impressed with Tobin but think that Christen is just trying to be nice,by not flat out refusing like she has been.

She has given Christen subtle compliments, never unprofessional or inappropriate, but Christen notices that Tobin doesn’t say these things to anyone else. Christen slowly starts to respond and banter with Tobin as well, which excites Tobin, although she still declines to go out with them.

Christen notices that it starts to become a running joke with some of the nurses. Sometimes, when she walks away, she can hear some of the nurses making fun of Tobin playfully, but Tobin never seems to care. This amuses Christen, but she secretly hopes that the teasing doesn’t discourage Tobin. And it doesn’t.

Eventually Christen looks forward to these interactions with the paramedic in between the chaos of the ER. With the way that she carries herself, no one would ever know that whenever the doors open she finds herself hoping that it’s Tobin’s unit and is a little disappointed when it’s another team. No one would ever know that when it _is_ Tobin, she debates whether she would rather be waited on while she tends to the patient or the one waiting for Tobin to meet her at the nurse’s counter after handing off her patient. 

She finds herself thinking back on these moments later on in the day when she’s in her apartment enjoying the quiet after her long shifts in the ER. Sometimes a Tobin moment will come to her when she’s doing yoga or when a character in one of her books does something to remind her of Tobin, and she welcomes it as she smiles and laughs to herself. 

Tobin can’t wait until she gets to talk to Christen again. There is just something about the doctor that attracts her, even if she never gets to talk to her outside of the ER in the little moments when their paths overlap for a few minutes between each ambulance trip. She tries to keep it friendly and professional, but there are a couple of times when she’s complimented her eyes or her smile because she just can’t help it, and Christen doesn’t say anything when it happens. Sometimes she swears that there is something more to the way Christen looks at her but it’s so small that every time, she convinces herself that she is just imagining it. But she has a feeling that she’s slowly getting Christen to loosen up and she’s hoping that one day, She can convince Christen to agree to come out with them. 

* * *

Tobin pulls an apple from her coat pocket and leans on her elbow on the counter where Christen is currently writing some patient notes, taking a bite. “So Dr. Press, a week until Christmas. Are you excited? Got any plans for the holidays?”

Christen eyes the apple in Tobin’s hand and goes back to her notes, “Did you just pull that out of your pocket? Isn’t it a little early to be wearing your Santa hat?” Christen points her pen towards her own head.

Tobin shrugs, “Breakfast didn’t go as planned. Gotta eat when I can. And you.” Tobin extends her pointer finger on the hand holding the apple, “Didn’t answer my question,” ignoring the comment about her hat.

Christen lightly swats Tobin’s hand and apple away with the back of her hand, “Don’t point your apple at me. And maybe I do. Maybe I don’t,” Christen shrugs.

Tobin rolls her eyes taking another bite, “Don’t tell me you’re working Christmas too.”

Without looking at Tobin, Christen casually says, “Actually, I’ve got a date.”

Tobin almost chokes on her apple and clears her throat as Christen laughs and finally looks at her, “If I’m lucky, I’m hoping to have my way with about 15 drunk Santas.”

Tobin realizes she’s joking and tries to keep her cool. “Huh, should have figured you were working. And I see you’ve got a type.” Christen rolls her eyes before she walks into an exam room with a smirk, leaving Tobin turning her to watch the sway in her hips until the door closes.

“Give it up, Tobin.” 

Tobin turns around to where Lindsey is typing and leans on the counter taking another bite of her apple, “I think I’m getting somewhere.” 

Lindsey scoffs, “Yea, okay. And we’re gonna have a slow day.” With that, she gets up and flags down another doctor. 

* * *

Tobin comes out of one of the trauma rooms and naturally looks around for Christen. When she doesn’t see her, she goes up to the nurse’s station and leans over. Even though Lindsey is clearly on the phone, Tobin taps her arm to get her attention and whispers, “Hey, Linds. Is Dr. Press around?”

Lindsey nods her head towards the break room and goes back to her phone call. Tobin turns around and looks towards the room and is able to make out Christen’s back through the half drawn blinds. She’s standing in front of the coffee pot and staring out the window as she waits for the coffee to finish brewing. 

As Tobin is about to step towards the room, a woman dressed in a business suit is already two steps away and is trying to quietly open the door. Tobin watches and wonders if she should be worried because she had never seen this woman before and she is walking slowly towards Christen as if not to startle her and possibly attack her. 

Just as Tobin is about to run in and save Christen, she sees the woman cover Christen’s eyes from behind, which clearly startles Christen as she jumps. The woman quickly removes her hands and Christen turns around. Tobin sees her face light up as she recognizes the woman behind her and proceeds to hug her, rather enthusiastically, and rather long. As they continue to embrace, Tobin is trying to figure out who this woman is and how she knows Christen. Was this a friendly hug or something more?

Once they break their embrace, they are staring at each other and talking as if they are going through the formalities of what a surprise it is to see each other and just catching up. Seems friendly enough.

The suited woman pulls out a small box, which Christen gives a look to her that conveys that she shouldn’t have brought her a gift. The woman just nods her head towards the box and pushes it into Christen’s hand. 

Tobin can’t see what it is, but as soon as Christen opens the box, she clearly gets emotional as she stares at what is in the box. She looks up at the woman and embraces her again. Tobin watches her admire and delicately touch whatever’s in the box. Her eyes fall to the ground as her face morphs into one of realization and disappointment.

Lindsey sees this and tries to get Tobin’s attention. “Yo, Tobes.” 

Tobin snaps out of it and turns back around to Lindsey, “Hm?”

“Are you still suiting up this year for the kids or are you finally gonna retire?”

Tobin forces a smile, “Retire? Get outta here. I love putting on the suit. Seeing those kids’ faces every year? It’s priceless. I’m never going to retire.” Lindsey can see right through her forced smile but knows her words are genuine.

Lindsey chuckles, “You know, one day you’re gonna get too old to do it.”

Tobin shakes her head, “Nah, you’re never too old for Santa. What about you? Are you working?” 

Lindsey sighs out, “Yeah, I’m signed up but I’m trying to get someone to switch.”

Tobin nods in sympathy, “Wow, three days out. Think anyone’s gonna take it?”

Lindsey crosses her fingers, “Hopefully. Maybe Santa can help me out here.” She ends with a wink to Tobin.

“I can get you a coloring book with crayons. It’s the 24 pack!” Tobin suggests. 

As she says this, she registers soft laughter getting louder. She turns her ear towards the break room and hears the door open. She quickly turns back to Lindsey and taps the counter, “Anyway, I gotta go. I’ve kept Harry waiting for long enough now. Good luck getting someone to cover.” And with that, she heads out, not looking in Christen’s direction.

Christen notices Tobin leaving and is surprised and a little disappointed when Tobin makes no attempt to talk to her or just give her a nod. The woman taps her on the shoulder and she turns her attention back to her conversation.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Tobin and Christen run into each other like normal, but it’s not normal. Something has shifted and Christen is confused. 

When Christen takes one of Tobin’s patients in, she doesn’t see Tobin waiting at the counter for her when she comes out, like she usually does. She tries not to think anything of it and chalks it up to a busy day, although she knows it’s not. Maybe Tobin has other things to tend to. That’s probably it. 

When another doctor takes one of Tobin’s patients in, Christen makes sure that she is at the counter, looking busy, but at the counter where Tobin will approach her like she always does. But Tobin always seems to be in a rush. The most she will get is a slight head nod in passing from Tobin, if that. If she was annoyed or disappointed, no one would ever know. She gets back to work and tries not to think about it. 

Each time Tobin comes in, Christen wants to approach her, but that’s not their dynamic. Tobin always comes up to her. That’s how it’s always been. If Christen goes up to her, it’ll be weird. She has to keep it professional. So she doesn’t do anything about it. 

* * *

It’s Christmas and Christen is coming out of an exam room. She goes over to the counter and tells the nurse, “Alright Charlotte, that’s another one, what am I at now?”

The nurse stands up and uncaps a marker, “That’s 14 drunk santas now, Dr. Press. I’ve actually got another one waiting for you before you clock out at 7.” She goes to draw a tally in an area under the title ‘DS.’

“Bring it on.”

The whole time, Tobin is sitting in the waiting area, watching the whole interaction. Her head popped up as soon as she heard Christen’s voice when she first came out. As soon as Christen turns her head and looks over to the waiting area, Tobin is suddenly aware of her surroundings and her eyes lock in with Christen’s. 

“Tobin? What are you wearing?”

Tobin is in a full Santa suit, besides her hat, which is inside her pants pocket for now. Christen comes closer and realizes that Tobin’s right arm is tucked inside the jacket and not the arm. She also notices that it’s wrapped in gauze that seems to be bleeding through.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Tobin finally speaks, “Uh yeah, I’m fine. I can wait for Dr. Lloyd if you’re busy.”

“I’m not. Come on, let me take a look at that.”

Tobin follows Christen into one of the rooms and takes off her jacket, before she sits down on the bed and Christen rolls a tray over to her, motioning for Tobin to put her arm on it while she sits in her stool.

Christen starts to look at her arm. She removes the gauze that’s there and sees a rough cut about one and a half inches long. “So how did this happen? Did you get caught in a chimney?” 

Tobin breathes out a short laugh, “One of the kids at the rec center was riding his scooter around and lost control. I was carrying a crate of apples from the bottom with my arms. He ran into me before he could stop and the corner of the crate kinda dragged towards me and dug into my arm.”

“Ouch.” Christen doesn’t look up as she continues working, “That must have hurt.”

Tobin shrugs, almost forgetting that she was supposed to keep her arm still, but Christen doesn’t say anything, “It wasn’t too bad. But I knew I needed stitches.”

This is the first time in three days that Tobin is talking to Christen. Christen really wants to ask why Tobin hasn’t been talking to her but instead she prods, “So the rec center?”

Tobin nods, even though Christen hasn’t looked up at her once. “Yeah, we host Christmas dinner for kids in the group homes nearby. Anyone can come though. Families come out and we usually make a potluck out of it.”

“And you dress up as Santa for them?”

Tobin smiles, “Yeah. I do. It’s my fourth year.”

And then the conversation stops.

Besides the occasional comment of what she was doing next in her process or asking if Tobin was comfortable with her arm in that position, Christen was quiet while stitching Tobin up. Tobin didn’t make an attempt to start up a conversation outside of her responses to the doctor’s questions. It’s not awkward, but it’s not _not_ awkward.

When it was time to apply the final bandage to Tobin’s arm, Christen decided it was time to ask what she really wanted, “Have you been okay?”

Tobin looks up at Christen, a little confused. Christen continues to work on her arm, not looking up. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”

“Just,” Christen is careful with her words, “You’ve been in a hurry lately, so just wanted to check in.”

Tobin shifts a little on the bed, “Oh, uh yeah, just trying to do the job, you know?”

Christen looks up at Tobin’s face and can tell that Tobin wants to say something and is trying to make her face unreadable. Christen waits for a little bit but Tobin just stares back at her. Christen then nods slowly, “Okay.” 

She gets up abruptly, taking her gloves off while walking to the trash can and disposing them. “Those need to be changed every few hours and try to keep the area clean. You need to come back in about 5 days to get the stitches out.” Christen picks up her prescription pad and starts to write out a prescription for some painkillers. “You should take these if you have any pain. No more than one every 6 hours.” She signs the paper and rips it off to hand to Tobin. “If anything, just come back and someone will take care of you.”

Tobin reaches for the paper and finally speaks up, “Listen, I wanted to apologize if I was being inappropriate or crossed the line. It’s just, you never really stopped me so I thought it was okay and it was just back and forth.” Tobin motions between the two of them. “And, and... I just.” Tobin finally looks up, “Sorry. If I had known you had a girlfriend or whatever, I wouldn’t have…” Tobin gives her a look as if to say _you know_.

Christen just stands there with her hand still in the air after Tobin had taken the prescription out of her hand, taking in what she just heard. She shakes her head as she says, “I don’t have a girlfriend.” 

Tobin tilts her head, “You don’t?”

Christen crosses her arms, “Where did you get that idea?”

“Well, the other day, you were… There was a woman… And there was a box… And you looked…”

Christen closes her eyes with an amused smile on her face and Tobin stops talking. “My sister.” Christen opens her eyes in time to see Tobin’s eyes widen.

“Your. Sister.” Tobin starts to chuckle and grin as she drops her chin to her chest, “Your sister.”

Before Christen could catch herself, “So that’s why you stopped.”

Tobin’s head snaps up and stares at Christen. All of a sudden, she narrows her eyes and smirks, “You missed me.”

Christen is quick, “No, just worried about my patients is all. A sudden change in behavior can be an indicator of many things so I was just checking in.”

Tobin nods and hums in response. “So you cared.”

Christen responds, “Yes, I care about my patients, believe it or not. And notice, I only asked you how you were after you became my patient.”

Tobin smiles, amused. She holds up the prescription that Christen handed her. “I stopped being your patient when you gave me this prescription.”

Christen’s eyes go from the prescription in Tobin’s hand back to Tobin, “I asked you before I even wrote that out. You were still my patient.”

Tobin nods, “Okay.”

They stare at each other for another ten seconds before Christen puts her hands in her pockets and points her head towards the door, “I should go check on them.”

Tobin nods. Christen nods, turns and walks towards the door. When she is about to reach the door, she hears Tobin, “I know I’m not drunk so it doesn’t exactly fit your type, but do you think you can make an exception?”

Christen rolls her eyes, like she didn’t miss this, before she turns around and smirks at Tobin. “I see you’re back.”

Tobin gets up, grabs her jacket, and slowly walks closer to Christen, “So…?”

Christen sighs, biting the inside of her cheek, contemplating how she should respond. 

Tobin doesn’t wait long before trying again, “Come on. It’s just you and me right now.”

Christen responds unconvincingly, “I’m not really known to make exceptions.”

“I saw on the board that you only had 14 DS’s come in today, which I’m guessing stands for ‘Drunk Santas.’ Don’t you want to meet your quota at least?”

“Yeah, but it’ll be like 14 and a half. Not really much difference.”

“I’ll make it worth it.”

“How?”

“I’ll work twice as hard to make up the other half.”

“At what?”

“Whatever you want.”

Christen stares at her, really seeing how much she’s missed their interactions these last couple of days. Spreading her hands still in her pockets so her coat fans out and back in while asking, “What’s it been? Like a month now?”

Tobin shrugs, “Who’s really counting, right?”

Christen turns her head to the side and closes her eyes for a moment and then turns back to Tobin and sighs, “I guess it’s Christmas. I should give you _some_ hope.”

Tobin smiles and Christen glances at her smile and can’t help but smile a little herself. “My shift ends in half an hour.” Christen points her finger at Tobin, “Do not. Wait for me outside. Just tell me where you live and maybe, _maybe_ , I’ll stop by.”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe.”

Tobin chuckles, at least she gets the actual word ‘maybe’ this time, “I guess I can do maybe. I live on West and 9th, apartment 37. It’s on the third floor.”

Christen simply says, “Alright,” and opens the door and starts to walk out. 

Tobin steps in between Christen and the door before she can walk through it. It takes Christen by surprise as she stops herself where her body is just inches away from Tobin. She leans her head back a little for some distance and raises an eyebrow.

In a low and husky voice, Tobin says with a smirk, “You know, it’s not really gonna give me hope if you don’t show up.” 

Christen opens the door wider and brushes past Tobin as she whispers, “I’ve got patients.”

Tobin stands in the doorway for a few seconds before she puts on her jacket and walks out of the room with the biggest smile on her face. She looks around and is disappointed to see that Christen is nowhere to be found and that everyone is busy except someone at the nurse’s desk, who’s facing away from her, writing on the board. She also notices that the DS counter has an extra mark now.

Tobin struts to the counter, leans on her elbows and says smugly, “Hey,” getting the nurse’s attention, “I finally got her.” 

The nurse turns around with the marker still in her hand in midair, confused to see Tobin talking to her, “Ooookay,” she says slowly. “Did you need anything else before you leave ma’am?”

Tobin’s smile deflates a little, “No, I’m good.” She turns and gives the nurse a small wave and polite smile, “Have a good night. Happy holidays.” 

“You too, take it easy.” The nurse goes back to updating the board. 

Tobin walks away, laughing to herself and shaking her head. As she walks past the waiting area and is halfway out the sliding doors mutters to herself, “No one’s gonna believe me.”

“I believe you!” Tobin stops, takes two steps backwards and looks to her left where she thinks she heard the gruff voice come from. She looks around before a man in a Santa suit sits upright from where he was laying across three chairs to look at her. Swaying a little, he repeats himself, “I believe you,” he points up to her, clearly a little drunk. “You know, us Santas,” he points between the two of them, “we gotta stick together. I got you. I believe you. Whatever it is, I believe you.” He balls his hand in a fist and leaves it there. 

Tobin chuckles and pounds his fist, “Thanks man. You take care. I’ll see you next year, yeah?”

As Tobin walks out the sliding doors for the second time, she just hears him hum in response and looks back through the glass doors to see that he’s already laying back down across those three chairs.

* * *

Tobin opens her door and smiles wide, “Dr. Press.”

Christen rolls her eyes, “You don’t have to call me that outside of work, Tobin.” 

Tobin smirks, “Christen.” She looks Christen up and down in her dark jeans and sweater, “You changed.”

“I always change when I leave work. Who knows what ends up on my work clothes at the end of my shifts.”

Tobin smiles, “You look nice.”

Christen gives her a soft smile in return, “Are you going to invite me in?”

Tobin’s eyebrows lift and she jerks the door open, “Of course. Yeah.”

Christen smirks and can’t help thinking about how Tobin looks in a simple henley and jeans. She walks into the apartment, looking around. 

“Would you like something to drink? I don’t _drink_ drink but I have some cider. I just finished mulling it.”

Christen raises her eyebrows, “You mull your own cider?”

Tobin moves to the stovetop and starts scooping two cups of cider from a pot, “We had extra apples. And it’s not all that fancy or anything, just a recipe I got from the Food Network, but I think it came out pretty good.”

Christen watches her as she carefully tries not to spill, “You don’t drink?”

Tobin hands her a cup and shrugs, “Nah, not really my thing.”

Christen takes a sip, “Hm. This is pretty good.”

Tobin takes a sip from her own cup before looking out through her windows, “Oh hey, it’s snowing.”

Christen turns to look and can’t help but stare in awe.

Tobin bumps shoulders with her lightly, “We can go on the couch. It’s closer to the snow.”

Christen laughs, “You’re always on, aren’t you?”

“What? That wasn’t even--.” Tobin starts to stutter and shake her head while Christen looks at her, amused. “Whatever, come on.” Tobin heads for the couch and Christen follows. 

At first, they sit with about a foot of space in between them and watch the snow. And then they talk.

Tobin finds out that this is the first time that Christen is experiencing snow having moved from California a few months ago. Tobin tries to convince Christen to go outside to really experience it and Christen adamantly refuses, which causes Tobin to laugh so hard and so adorably that Christen can’t help but watch until every last part of her body stills. 

They talk about the hospital and how Christen came here for a change of pace after 3 years at a hospital in California. Christen finds out that Tobin was a paramedic for four years here before she left for a year to take up a position training other paramedics a couple of cities over. She grew bored of teaching and wanted to get back in the field. 

They talk about their childhoods and their families. They compare their high school memories and experiences. They talk about college and odd jobs. They talk about their first years in their fields and the mistakes they’ve made. They talk about training interns and rookies. They brush over healthy relationships that have ended mutually. One topic leads to the next and there never seems to be a lull in conversation. 

At one point, Christen’s stomach growls and Tobin admits to picking up takeout because she didn’t know if Christen would want to eat or not. Christen blushes that Tobin thought about her enough to buy dinner. They reheat the food and eat, continuing on with their conversation of random topics. They never get any closer in terms of space, but they feel as though they’ve known each other forever with everything they’ve covered.

After a few more cups of cider between then, Christen softly says, “I like this Tobin.”

Tobin looks at her smugly, “You like the other Tobin, too. Admit it.”

Christen scrunches her face, “Never.”

Tobin lets out a soft laugh, “I like this Christen. Although I also like Dr. Press as well.” 

Christen looks down at her cup as she fiddles with it, “You know, you finally got me to come out with you… How come you didn’t give me any lines or try anything?” Christen brings her head up to look at Tobin.

Tobin responds kindly, “Did you want me to? Try something?”

Christen looks down at Tobin’s shoulder, “Honestly?” She shrugs, “I don’t know. But when I came here, I just kind of assumed that’s what it was going to be.” She looks back at Tobin’s eyes, which are staring right back at her, as if trying to look deep into her soul.

“I didn’t know what was going to happen, really. I didn’t even know if you were going to show up. But I’m glad you did.”

A small smile appears in Christen, “I’m glad I did too.”

“And I don’t know. We just started talking and it was nice. I mean I didn’t really plan anything. I mean, I got the food and I made the cider but beyond that I had no idea. I honestly don’t even know what I would have done if we didn’t just sit here and talk, to be honest.” Christen giggles and Tobin realizes she’s rambling now. “I mean it all worked out, I think. This was nice. Right?”

“Yeah. It was nice.” Christen reassured her. “I think I really needed this. Thank you, Tobin.” She doesn’t mention how much she enjoyed it. How being with Tobin was somehow an even better quiet than when she is alone in her apartment. A calmer quiet. Maybe this is the type of quiet she’s been looking for. 

“Sometimes it’s nice to just hang out. Go to the bar every once in a while with the group.” Tobin gives her a teasing smile and she hints at all the times Christen has denied invitations to go out with them.

Christen laughs, “You don’t even drink.”

“It’s not about that. It’s nice to be around people sometimes, away from work. I mean, if not with us, I hope you’re spending time with other people, at least.”

Christen sighs, “I just get so wrapped up in my job, that I forget to find time for stuff like that. And now, I’m in a new city, I don’t really know anyone so it’s a little bit harder. But it’s been okay. I don’t mind it.”

“You know me. Well now, I guess you know two of me, both of which you like.”

Christen laughs, “I don’t mind being alone though, you know? That probably sounds lame but I just like the quiet sometimes. Especially when I’m done with work, I just like to be by myself and decompress.”

“That doesn’t sound lame. I get that.”

“It’s just my routine, I guess.”

“So it really messed you up when I stopped bothering you huh?” Tobin raises her eyebrows and gives her a smug grin.

“I wouldn’t say messed me up. I was just concerned about you that’s all.”

Tobin looks at her accusingly, “I thought you were only concerned about your patients.”

Christen glares at Tobin and says, “Shut up,” before she rolls her eyes and takes another drink of her cider. Tobin can only laugh as her eyes travel the path of the cider as if she can see the liquid go from the cup, to her mouth, and down her throat. 

All of a sudden, Tobin’s phone rings, bringing her out of her trance. Christen raises her eyebrows, nodding at her phone, “Booty call? It’s like 2AM.”

Tobin laughs, before picking up the phone call. Christen watches as she makes no move to take her call privately. 

Tobin keeps eye contact with Christen while she answers the phone. “Hey.” “No, it’s cool. What’s up?” Tobin closes her eyes “What happened?” She nods with her eyes still closed and finally says, “Yeah. Of course. I’ll be there.” “See ya.” She finally opens her eyes and hangs up. Letting out a sigh, she looks back at Christen. 

“Work?”

“Sam’s partner rolled his ankle trying to chase down an elf. She needs a riding buddy for the rest of the night.”

Christen nods, “I should be heading home anyway. Are you sure you’re okay to work? You didn’t really get any rest or anything.”

Tobin shrugs. “It’s fine. It’ll either be slow enough where I could nap or so much going on that the adrenaline will keep me up.”

“I get that.”

They smile at each other for a beat before they both get up to gather their stuff to leave. As they get to the door, Tobin bumps her shoulder with Christen’s and says, “I’ll walk you out.”

Christen laughs and rolls her eyes, “Don’t act like you’re being chivalrous here. We’re already going in the same direction.”

Tobin shakes her head as she holds the door open, “You can’t let me have anything, can you?”

The ride in the elevator starts out silent as they stare at the elevator doors and watch the numbers go down. 

Once they get to the front of the building, they’re about to break off in different directions towards their cars. 

Christen gives Tobin one last look, “So, I’ll see you around.”

Tobin starts to walk backwards towards her car smirking, “See you around, Dr. Press.” She turns around as Christen smiles and shakes her head as she turns towards her car as well. 

* * *

The next day, Christen is writing notes in a chart when she catches a glimpse of red coming out of the elevators. She looks up and sees Tobin look around before spotting her and grins. “Dr. Press!” She starts to walk towards her. 

Christen is putting the chart in a rack and turning towards Tobin when she reaches her. She eyes her up and down from her black Santa boots to her red Santa hat. “Is this your new go-to outfit now? Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

Tobin laughs and takes her hat off, running her fingers through her hair to fix the adorable hat hair. “Actually, I have the day off. Some of the nurses in Peds asked if I could do a make-up run for some of the kids who missed out on Santa because they had surgery yesterday.”

Christen smiles and nods, “Of course.”

“You know, I figured since I had the suit on so it couldn’t hurt to try again. Still not drunk but...”

Christen smirks, “Who said it wouldn’t hurt?”

Tobin bites her lip as she stares at Christen, half challenging her and half not knowing what to say to that.

Christen looks down at her lips and back up to her eyes before snapping back into work-mode. She takes out her prescription pad and starts writing, “You know, if you lost your prescription I gave you, you could have just asked me to write you another one.” She rips off the prescription and shoves it to Tobin’s chest, surprising Tobin with the abrupt change. Tobin reaches up just in time to put her hand over Christen’s on her chest before Christen quickly slides it away, Tobin’s sole hand now flat on the paper against her chest. Christen walks past her and without looking back says, “Have a good day off, Tobin.”

Tobin is still frozen when Lindsey shakes her head and says, “Dude, like I said, let it go.” She grabs a chart and starts walking towards an exam room, leaving Tobin still standing there.

Tobin finally lets a breath out. She looks at the paper and sees a phone number. 

_My shift ends at 7. Still got any apples, Santa?_

* * *

“Ugh. I can’t believe I got stuck working Christmas this year.”

“Aw come on Rose, it’s not so bad,” Lindsey tries to console her, as she reaches for a file from behind Rose’s chair. 

Rose swivels in her chair to face Lindsey and rolls her eyes, “Please, you bribed the nurse from the sixth floor last year.”

Lindsey shrugged, “You gotta do what you gotta do.”

“Yeah? How’d that date go by the way?” Rose retorts smugly. 

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” She nods to the doctor who just walked up to the counter and opened a file, “Oh hey, are you working on Christmas again this year Dr. Press?” And then quickly to Rose, “I’m sure it won’t be so bad with Dr. Press.”

Christen looks up from her file, after hearing her name, “Hm? Oh no. I’ve got a date.”

Lindsey laughs, “Right, with like 20 drunk Santa’s right?”

“Actually, just one.” As she closes the file and puts it in the rack, she adds before walking away, “And she doesn’t drink.”

Lindsey just stands there confused, staring at Christen walk away. 

“What was that about?”

Lindsey turns back to Rose, “I don’t know. I can’t tell if she’s joking or not. Last year—” Lindsey cuts herself off as she sees Tobin walking in with a Santa hat on, even though there’s still a week until Christmas, her eyes widening in realization. _A Santa who doesn’t drink._

Rose turns to see what Lindsey is looking at and gets even more confused but greets the paramedic, “Oh hey Tobin!”

Before Tobin can respond, Lindsey speaks accusingly at Tobin, “You!”

Tobin freezes just before reaching the counter, “Uh, me?”

Lindsey starts, “You and—”

She gets cut off when she hears Christen shout, “Lindsey! We need another set of hands in here!”

Lindsey responds, immediately heading towards the room. As she goes around the counter and passes Tobin, she points a finger to her, “We’re not done here.”

She is already in the room before Tobin can even say, “Done with what?”

Tobin turns to Rose and with a thumb pointing behind her, “What was that about?”

“I have no idea.”

* * *

“Dr. Press!” When Tobin sees Christen come out of the room a few minutes later, she walks up to her and continues in step.

Christen continues to walk towards the elevator without looking at her, “Tobin.”

When they get to the elevator, Christen presses the up button and they stand there staring at the elevator doors and waiting. “It came today.”

Christen hums, “I know. I saw it on my way out.”

Tobin just smiles, “And you didn’t think to bring it inside?”

Christen gives a barely noticeable shake of her head and she fights a smile, “I was hoping someone would steal it.”

Tobin laughs, “It won’t be so bad.”

“There better be some benefits to being Mrs. Claus.”

Tobin turns to look at her and says sincerely, “Oh come on. Once you see those kids’ faces, I promise, it’ll be worth it.”

Just then the elevator arrives and as she waits for people to come out, she says low enough for Tobin to hear, “Those weren’t the benefits I was talking about.” Christen gets into the elevator and pushes the button to her floor before smirking and making eye contact with Tobin right when the door closes. 

As Tobin walks back towards the entrance to get back to her ambulance, she passes Rose on the way, “Struck out again huh?”

Tobin smirks, “I think I’m getting somewhere.”


	2. Next Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen finally takes a day off for Christmas, but Mrs. Claus doesn't.

When Christen was younger, she loved the holidays. The house would always be decorated, the kitchen would always smell like cookies, and the family would always be in some sort of festive wear starting on the first of the month.

But ever since she went to college, she’s drifted from traditions and celebrations. All of her sisters were grown up and living their own lives and her parents were enjoying their time with cruises and destination vacations. Besides, she was too busy with classes and preparing for medical school during those years.

And then she got into medical school, and then she was an intern, and now she’s a resident working her way up to becoming an attending. She just didn’t have time. It wasn’t a big deal, though. She just got busy and celebrating the holidays just became less of a thing for her. And since it obviously meant a lot to other people, Christen didn’t mind taking shifts on those days. 

Well, Tobin was other people and this year Tobin asked her to come with her to the rec center for Christmas. For the first time since she’s become a doctor and had the perfect excuse to skip out on any Christmas festivities, Christen requests the day off to spend it with Tobin. 

Tobin knows that Christen usually doesn’t do anything for the holidays but Tobin likes to go all out. She doesn’t want to scare Christen away by going overboard and being too much but she wants to share and do everything with her. A week before Christmas, while they’re sitting on the couch watching a movie before going to bed, Tobin decides to see if she can get Christen to agree to more. 

“Who usually does it?”

Tobin shrugs, “Well, it was Glennon when Abby was Santa. But since I took over, it just felt weird to have her do it because they’re married, so no one.”

“So, why do you need someone to do it this year?”

“Because it’ll be fun.”

“I don’t know, Tobin...”

Tobin’s face falls a little, seeing that Christen is a little uncomfortable about the idea, “It’s okay then. You don’t have to dress up. But you’ll still come right?” Her face perks up again, the excitement back, waiting for Christen to answer so she can be sure, even though she had already agreed to coming. 

Christen looks into Tobin’s brown eyes and she knows she’s going to give in later anyways because she can’t stand that she had dampened even a little of Tobin’s excitement. She lets out a long sigh as her face softens, making Tobin smile.

Christen touches her forehead to Tobin’s, “Let’s go order the dress.”

Tobin jerks her face back and the look on her face is now ecstatic and she grins widely, “Really?”

Christen laughs before turning off the TV. She gets up and pulls Tobin by the hand to the bedroom to get her laptop, “Come on, before I change my mind.”

Tobin insists that Christen be the one to click to confirm the order to prove that she really wants to do this. And Christen does want to do this — for Tobin. Tobin was vibrating with excitement as Christen sat on her lap. Her chin rested on her shoulder as she watched to make sure that the measurements of the dress would fit Christen. Even though she was unsure about it at first, Christen couldn’t help but smile and be amused at how excited Tobin was just from them ordering the dress.

Before she could even fully lift her finger off the enter key after pushing it to make the purchase, Tobin is already lifting her up and dragging her to the bed before laying her down gently on her back. Tobin simultaneously climbs on top of her, holding herself up with one arm near Christen’s head and her other hand on Christen’s ribs. Looking down at her girlfriend, she can’t help but grin like an idiot. 

Christen turns her head to kiss Tobin’s bicep before settling her cheek up against it to look back at Tobin who’s still grinning, “Are you happy?”

Tobin just nods before lowering her head to kiss her, “I can’t believe this is really happening.” 

Tobin attempts to kiss her again but she fails because she’s grinning so widely that when Christen tries to kiss her back, all she feels is teeth on her lips. Christen can’t help but to give up and laugh, “You’re ridiculous.”

Tobin raises her head a little, easing up on her grin, “Ridiculous…ly hot?”

Christen just smiles up at her, “Yes.”

Tobin has controlled her grin to a smile now and kisses her once before asking, “And funny?”

“Mhm.” Christen lifts her head to catch Tobin’s lips again.

Tobin backs her head away again, “And cool?”

Christen grabs the back of Tobin’s neck and pulls her down, “Yes.” Kiss. “And sexy.” Kiss. Kiss. Tobin lets out a little moan into her mouth as she moves her hand to Christen’s breast. “And good with your hands.” Tobin starts to massage her breast and Christen starts to kiss down Tobin’s jawline, “So good with your hands, baby.” 

When she gets to Tobin’s ear, her hand finds Tobin’s to coax it down her body and whispers, “Show me how good you are with your hands, Tobin.”

Tobin lets Christen push her hand down to her core but she takes over and slips her hand under her waistband to meet already-wet folds, which makes them both groan. 

Tobin can’t help but to tell her, “I haven’t even touched you yet and you’re already wet.”

“Mhm.” Christen can’t respond with anything more than a moan as she writhes against Tobin’s hand, which is just slowly teasing her folds. 

“My hands are that good, huh Mrs. Claus?”

All of a sudden Christen opens her eyes and stills. Tobin pops her head up and scrunches her face up, “No?”

Christen shakes her head, “It’s a little weird.”

Tobin shakes her head nervously, “Sorry, I just — “

Christen lifts her head to kiss Tobin, “Hey, it’s okay.” Christen puts her hand over Tobin’s which is still in her pants to encourage her to continue, “Come back.”

Tobin is still feeling a little embarrassed but when Christen’s tongue works its way into her mouth, she gets back on track and starts to move her hand. She makes sure to redeem herself for her little experimental slip. Over. And over. And over again. And hopefully it makes Christen forget it ever happened.

* * *

Christen did forget about that night. A few days later, she saw a package in front of the door as she was leaving for work. She took one look at it and she got a little nervous as she remembered what she had promised Tobin. She knew it was the dress. She hadn’t celebrated the holidays in so long and now she was about to go full-on Mrs. Claus. What if she didn’t fit the part. She didn’t want to ruin it for the kids, or worse, for Tobin.

Tobin brought up the package at work later that day but she played it off, feeding Tobin a line that would hopefully hide her nerves about it.

Of course, Tobin knew that Christen was a little hesitant about Christmas in general and thought maybe it was too much that she asked this much of Christen for their first Christmas together. 

Tobin got home earlier than Christen and was just putting the chicken in the oven when Christen walked in. Before she walked in, she stopped suddenly, seeing half the hallway floor occupied by a rather large tree still bundled in its netting. Her nostrils finally caught up with her eyes and she was hit with the strong pine smell and memories of her childhood came back to her. Christmas came with trees, and lights, and ornaments, and decorations. All things that she had not thought about since moving away from her childhood home. 

But now, she’s dating Tobin, who loves celebrating any and everything, especially Christmas. She wonders just how festive Tobin’s apartment will look on Christmas day. 

She hangs her jacket on the rack and walks into the kitchen to find her girlfriend, “Hey babe.”

“Hey, you’re home! I just put the chicken in. It should be done in like half an hour.” Tobin finishes drying her hands and wraps them around Christen’s waist. “How was your day?”

Christen buries her face in Tobin’s neck and kisses her behind her ear, “It was alright.”

They hold each other for a moment before Christen pulls back and gives Tobin a kiss, “I saw the tree,” she nods her head towards the hallway. “Are we putting it up tonight?”

“Actually, that tree’s not really ours.” Christen tilts her head, a little confused. “It’s for the rec center. We let the kids come and go crazy and decorate it how they want. It's usually pretty funky.” Tobin shrugs, “But it’s fun to see what they do with it.”

Christen just nods so Tobin continues rambling, “Plus, I never really buy one for myself because I spend most of Christmas over there anyway. Or if not there, I’d go to a friend’s or something. I never really had anyone to spend it with here.”

Christen just looks at Tobin with a soft smile, any nerves she had disappearing in an instant. 

But the silence makes Tobin nervous and makes her feel like she did or said something wrong, “Why? Did you want a tree? We can get one.”

“No, it’s fine.” Christen shakes her head slowly because Tobin is cute when she’s nervous and rambles, “I just love you.”

Tobin relaxes and smiles, “I love you, too.” Tobin gives her a peck before she looks down between them, avoiding Christen’s eyes and nervously asks, “If you’re still here, maybe we can get one next year?”

Christen smirks and tries to joke, “ _If_ I’m here? Why, you got someone else lined up?”

Tobin looks up and immediately shakes her head, “No, that’s not what I mean—”

Christen brings her hand up to Tobin’s cheek, “Baby, relax.”

Tobin sighs, “I just don’t want to overwhelm you. I know you don’t really do Christmas so I don’t want to do too much.”

“Tobin. I don’t _hate_ Christmas. It’s not like it scares me or anything. I just haven’t done it in a while. I wasn’t running away from it, I just had other priorities and didn’t really feel like it.” Christen shrugs. “But this year is different.” Tobin smiles at this. Christen stares at Tobin’s smile and lifts her chin towards it, “That’s different.”

“Whatever you want to do, it’s not too much, I promise. I want to experience it the Tobin Heath way. So go for it okay? Don’t hold back. I’m not going anywhere.”

Tobin nods, “Well that’s pretty much it. But you know, if you don’t really want to do the whole Mrs. Claus thing, you don’t have to. I was joking anyways.”

“No you weren’t.” Tobin can’t even deny it, so Christen continues, “It’s fine baby, really. I want to do it with you.”

“Alright. Well I’m just putting it out there that I don’t want you to do it if you’re not up for it.”

“Okay.”

“If on the day of, you really don’t feel like it, you don’t have to.”

Christen sighs and nods, “Okay.”

“I mean it.”

“Okay.”

“I feel like you’re just saying that now.”

Christen smirks, “Okay.”

Tobin rolls her eyes, “Stop.”

“Okay.”

Tobin sighs and pulls away, “Ugh, I hate you. I’m gonna check on the food.”

Christen laughs and hugs her closer so she can’t move, “Nope, you already said you love me.” Christen rests her forehead on Tobin’s and whispers, “No takebacks.”

Tobin smiles and whispers back, “I said that, didn’t I?”

Christen hums in response. “I’d love to get a tree with you next year.”

Tobin responds by kissing her and swaying to the music in the kitchen until the oven dings when the chicken is done. 

* * *

They wake up at 5AM on Christmas morning, armed with a thermos of coffee, to haul the tree and their outfits down to the van and to make a few stops at several donation places to pick up presents and some of the food for the day.

Tobin picks up donations once every three weeks or so and Christen had been able to join her a few times when she didn’t have work, but those pick-ups didn’t compare to today’s at all. 

Those days consisted of whatever food the community could give them, which varied, but the usual suspects were dry pasta, rice, canned goods, vegetables, fruits, meats, and dairy products. Sometimes they had a lot to pick up and sometimes they didn’t. This was all taken back to the rec center for the kids in the cooking program so that they could cook for their special dinner nights at the rec center. Sometimes they had to get creative with it, but they always had a great time. 

Today, however, any food they got was already cooked and it was mostly desserts. There were a lot of cookies of various sorts, pies, brownies, and then some more in covered trays. 

But what takes up the most space, is all of the presents they pick up. There are backpacks and toys and dolls and books and art supplies and clothes and so much more. By the time they are leaving, Christen has items balanced on her lap in the front seat when they finally make their way to the rec center. 

“People are so generous this time of year,” Christen catches a pair of fuzzy slippers shaped like dogs before it falls in between them.

Tobin smiles as she backs out of the parking space, “Yeah. It’s really cool how people come together during times like this.”

“And you pick up the presents every year? By yourself?”

“Not every year, we take turns. Last year, I was in charge of decorations and wrapping paper. Did you know that orange is not really considered holiday-ey?”

Christen snorts, “Holiday-ey?”

Tobin waves her hand to emphasize her explanation, “Yeah. Holiday-ey. Like. Holiday-like.”

Christen laughs, “No, I got that part. Just because you can explain it doesn’t actually make it a word though.”

Tobin rolls her eyes, “Whatever, you know what I mean.”

“That nobody likes orange.”

Tobin’s hand shoots up to correct her, “No. I didn’t say all that. They just didn’t think orange was holiday-ey. But just wait until my turn comes around again, maybe next time, they’ll see that it has some holiday charm.”

Christen just chuckles while looking at Tobin.

When Christen doesn’t answer, Tobin glances over and sees her just staring at her, “What?”

Christen turns forward and simply says, “You’re cute.”

Tobin just smirks and sneaks one more look at Christen before grabbing her and kissing the back of it, holding it for the rest of the ride. Some of the presents topple out of Christen’s lap but they just let it happen. 

Once they arrive at the rec center, most of the crew is already there.

“Wow, you’re earlier than usual,” Abby says as she opens the back before Tobin and Christen get out of the car.

Glennon comes up to Christen’s door and opens it for her, catching some of the presents as they fall from her lap, “I’ll bet it has to do with Santa’s Little Helper this year.” Glennon gives Christen a wink.

Christen laughs as Tobin opens her door to go to the back to start unloading, “Actually I just sat here while Tobin buried me with all this stuff.”

Abby comes up from the rear, hugging an armful of toys, “Is that how she got you? She just trapped you? I knew there was a catch, there’s no way you’d stay with her willingly.”

Tobin pokes her head up and calls from the back, “Hey! There are other reasons.”

At this point, Christen had gotten out of the car and made her way next to Tobin. Abby and Glennon are laughing and already walking back towards the rec center when Christen presses a kiss to Tobin’s cheek and says with a playful smile, “Hm. Of course there are.”

Tobin just shakes her head and rolls her eyes, “Yeah okay. Here take these.” Tobin piles some of the desert trays onto Christen’s arms for her to carry.

“See, such a sweet talker,” Christen leans in to give Tobin another kiss on the cheek.

“Hey lovebirds! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.” They turn towards the entrance to see Amy, Jrue, and Lauren walking towards them. They start unloading things from the van as Christen walks past.

Lauren bumps Tobin’s shoulder as she hands her things to carry, “You guys cupcake at the hospital too?” She wriggles her eyebrows up and down suggestively.

As more volunteers come out, Tobin grabs some things and walks with Lauren inside, “We weren’t cupcaking. And not at work. No one knows we’re together at work.” Tobin shrugs.

Lauren raises her eyebrow, “You’re telling me that no one at the hospital knows you’re together? I don’t believe that. Even if you guys never got within 6 feet of each other, the way you guys look at each other? Come on.”

Tobin tries to think about how they are at work while they’re organizing everything. Christen liked to maintain professionalism at work and Tobin understood that. They never explicitly said anything about being together. 

Tobin still finds Christen every chance she was in the ER for a few minutes. Tobin would feed her some line or joke and Christen would answer with something witty before going off to another patient. Same as before they were officially together, keeping their professional distance. They were there to work, after all.

Some of the nurses still made jabs at her for trying, even though it’s been over a year now and Tobin usually just smiled and brushed it off. But realistically, they were hopeful that one day, Christen would finally give Tobin a chance. In between their teasing remarks, they always encouraged Tobin, “She’s definitely more relaxed than when she started here. I think you have something to do with that. Don’t give up. I’m sure she’ll come around someday.”

Tobin laughs as she thinks of the nurses at the hospital. She looks around the big gymnasium which currently looks like a mess with sorted piles of presents everywhere and decorations waiting to be used. Her eyes find Christen who is chatting with Dom and Sydney while sorting presents. Christen looks up and sees her and gives her a wink and Tobin smiles back. 

It’s a different vibe here. This wasn’t work and they didn’t have to be professional here. When Christen came to the rec center for the first time, she was actually the one who introduced herself as Tobin’s girlfriend, surprising Tobin.

_“Was that okay? Was I not supposed to say that?” Christen asked, seeing that Tobin was looking at her funny._

_“Yeah, I just—. I didn’t know how you wanted to play it. Like, if you wanted people to know.”_

_Christen just shrugged, “I mean, I don’t really mind if people know. I just have a weird thing about people at work knowing, I guess. ”_

_Tobin smiles, “Okay. Does that mean that I can,” Tobin wiggles her eyebrows, “do girlfriend things here?”_

_Christen laughs and pulls Tobin by the hand to their table, “You know there are children here right?”_

_Tobin just chuckles as she catches up alongside Christen, interlacing their fingers._

* * *

That rest of the morning was spent wrapping all the presents and it turns out that Christen was not as good at wrapping presents as she was at dressing wounds. The presents got wrapped but somehow she always ended up with more paper on one side or a tear in the paper which she had to use extra tape to fix, in which case, one could argue that it was more tape than paper in the end. 

She put her wrapped sweater in the pile and she looked at hers compared to the others. The others were poofy yet neat and mostly smooth while hers was rough and scrunchy from the energy she spent wrestling with the paper. 

Syd, who was trying to stifle her laughter from witnessing her struggle for the last 10 minutes, pushed a slinky in a rectangular box her way, “Here. Why don’t you try this box?”

Christen sighs, taking the box and grabbing the roll of paper to measure out what she needed. No matter how much she folded and turned the box, she couldn’t get it to do what she wanted so she put the box in the center of her paper and just pulled the paper up the sides, tying ribbon around the top parts like a gift basket. After tying it, she took her hands off the present, keeping her hands hovered over it as if it would suddenly combust. When it didn’t, she smiled and looked at Syd, “How’s that?”

Syd nods slowly eyeing the present, trying to think of what to say, “That’s… One way to wrap a box.”

Christen smiles a little harder, and looks back proudly at her present, “It’s a little out-of-the-box,” she looks up at Syd to make sure she caught her pun. Syd responds by raising her eyebrows and nods. She continues, looking back at her work and fanning and primping the excess on top, “but it works, right?”

Syd moves her head in circles, nodding and shaking her head at the same time, “Yeah, totally.” She suddenly spots Tobin coming in the door with a crate in her arms, “Oh hey, some more stuff got dropped off. Looks like they could use some more hands.”

Christen looks up and sees Tobin as well, “Oh, okay. I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time,” Sydney yells as Christen makes her way towards Tobin.

Tobin sees Christen walking up to her and grins.

Christen shakes her head as she gets closer, “Babe, there’s handles for a reason.”

Tobin nods and quickly shifts the crate so she’s holding it up by the handles, “Right, wouldn’t want a repeat of last year,” she shakes her head and then adds smugly, “Although, it did land me a date with a cute doctor.”

Christen doesn’t bat an eye, “Yeah, well Dr. Ellis is working tonight so if you wanna try your luck, go ahead.”

Tobin shudders, “Wow, way to ruin the moment.”

* * *

By 2PM, the presents were wrapped, the tables and chairs were put out, the games were set up, and the tree was unwrapped and fluffed out. There was just one thing left.

As they were throwing away their trash from their late lunch, Tobin turns to Christen, “Ready?”

Christen dusts the crumbs from her hands, “Yup. What else do we need to do?”

“Nothing. But it’s show time.”

Before any of the kids see them, Tobin and Christen change into their outfits. When Christen steps out in her red, velvet long-sleeve, full length red dress that curves to her body perfectly, Tobin has the biggest grin on her face. 

Christen gives her a twirl, “How does it look?”

Tobin grabs her hand and spins her again, “It looks really good. Like this dress was made for you to wear it.”

Christen moves closer to Tobin and strokes the faux fur lapel on Tobin’s jacket, “You look good too.”

Tobin whispers, “Thanks for doing this, Chris.”

Christen gives her a soft peck on the lips, “Merry Christmas, Tobin.”

When they walk out, a few of the younger kids spot them and run over.

“Ms. Christen!”

“You didn’t tell us you were one of Santa’s helpers too!”

“You’re a Santa Helper too?!”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Since when?”

Christen is trying to hear all the kids’ questions but she doesn’t know how to respond to the barrage of little voices and questions. Luckily, she doesn’t have to because Tobin bends down to the huddle of kids, “Well, Ms. Christen had to keep it a secret until today. It’s her first time and she gets to be here with you guys. Isn’t that cool?”

“Whoa.”

“The coolest.”

“Ohhhh.”

“Is that why she only came sometimes? Because she was practicing for today?”

Tobin looks up at Christen, who is just watching Tobin with a smitten look, as she laughs and nods, “Yes.”

She turns back to the kids, “Alright, I see a tree that needs decorating. Did you guys bring your ornaments?”

“Yeah, come see.”

“I made three but I gave one to Mackenzie because she didn’t like hers.”

“Mine is green!”

“Mine is the biggest one!”

“Mine is the best one!”

“Come see mine, I made it fluffy!”

The kids are all shouting about their handmade ornaments as they run towards the tree. Tobin stands up and puts her hand out for Christen to take, “Ready for the madness, Mrs. Claus?”

Christen grabs her hand, “Let’s do it, Santa.”

Tobin and Christen spent their time with the kids while the other volunteers managed everything else in the background. They played some of the games set up with the younger kids while the older kids put up the lights and tinsel. When they were done, they allowed the younger kids to finally put up their ornaments. 

They watched as the older kids helped the younger kids reach the higher branches for their ornaments and try to provide insight on ornament placement for a balanced tree, which was always politely rejected, because all of their ornaments deserved to be at the top. 

The kids ornaments are all different shapes and sizes. Most are red and green and there are a few whites and blues. Some of them have drawings on them, some are adorned with fuzzy balls while others are just a glitter dump, and some have bits and scraps of other colored paper glued to them.

Tobin bumps her elbow to Christen’s arm and points at one of the ornaments. Christen looks up and tries to see which one Tobin is talking about until she sees one that sticks out from the rest, a bright orange fuzzy one.

Tobin puts her hands out and shrugs, “I’m telling you, one of these years, orange is gonna be big.”

Christen laughs, “You can tell me all you want. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

The younger kids finish up and slowly come back to join where Christen and Tobin are sitting on the ground and watching. 

The older ones finally bring out their own ornaments which are more neatly done and are filled with writing on one side. The younger kids sit around as the older kids read from their ornaments, listing out what they are thankful for and what they want to accomplish in the next year before hanging them up, filling in the lower half of the tree.

As Christen listens, she finds herself hugging the little girl in her lap a little tighter as tears are pricking her eyes. She can’t even imagine what some of these kids have gone through. If Christen didn’t know, she would have never guessed that they were in group homes from the energy they’ve exuded each time she’s been here. 

She looks around at the kids sitting among her and then up at the adults who are setting up the food. She notices that there are other families starting to come in as well, armed with trays of home cooked food for their potluck dinner later on. She hears the faint sound of Christmas music coming from the other side of the gym. 

It all felt familiar to her. She realizes that she felt the same way as she did when she was younger. When her parents would decorate the house from the front door to all the closet doors. When all her family would come over and she got to catch up with her cousins who she hadn’t seen since summer. When she didn’t have a care in the world and was filled with so much joy when someone presented her with another gift as they walked in the door. 

Tobin nudges her. She looks up to meet Tobin’s eyes, which silently check in with her. She gives a quick nod and smile. Tobin didn’t go all out like her parents did with fancy decorations throughout the whole house and all the bells and whistles, but she went all in with her whole heart. It’s completely different but it felt exactly the same as when she was a little girl, when she was home. 

* * *

After finishing up with the tree and a few more games, the kids became Santa’s Helpers' Helpers and helped Tobin and Christen transfer all the gifts ‘they’ brought from the North Pole under the tree. 

As they were bringing some of the gifts out, one of the little boys exclaimed, “Hey, I think I know what this one is.” He holds up the box that Christen had wrapped. “It’s one of those troll doll things right?”

Christen opens and closes her mouth in defeat, before challenging his question, “I don’t know Julio, maybe it’s a slinky?”

Julio just laughs as he motions to the excess paper on top, “But slinkies don’t have this hair on top, silly.” He runs along to put it under the tree.

Christen nods defeatedly, turning to Tobin, who has her lips between her teeth, trying to hold in her laughter, “When he’s right, he’s right.”

Tobin can’t help but laugh now that the kids are preoccupied with arranging the presents, “So that’s a slinky? Don’t they come in boxes?”

Christen shakes her head although she can’t stop the smile that forms, “We’re not going to talk about that.”

Just as Christen is helping the kids arrange the last set of gifts, she hears Tobin, “Linds! You came!” She looks up to see Tobin walking to the door and hugging the nurse as she hands off a couple of pies to Amy, who takes them to the kitchen. 

All of a sudden Christen blanks. She is staring at Tobin and Lindsey talking when Mackenzie tugs her arm, “I think we’re done, Ms. Christen.”

She turns back to the task at hand, “Wow, it looks so good, doesn’t it?” She looks around, “I think it’s about time to eat, huh? Is anyone hungry?” The kids nod. “Okay, how about we go and wash our hands and then see if we can get some food in our bellies.”

Christen walks with the kids to the bathroom to wash their hands. Meanwhile, Lindsey was watching her, having spotted her before Tobin approached her. She didn’t even know what Tobin was talking about at that point, something about a connection and backpacks.

Once Tobin seems to have finished her sentence, Lindsey asks, “So you and Dr. Press?”

Tobin pauses for a bit before asking, “Me and Dr. Press what?”

“She’s here.”

“...Yeah. And you’re here. I invited her, like I invited you.”

Lindsey looks back over to see Christen walking out with some of the kids, “She’s in a Santa outfit.”

Tobin looks over to Christen as well, “Actually, it’s a Mrs. Claus outfit. But so what?” Tobin shrugs. “She wasn’t working today and I asked her if she wanted to do it and she said yes.”

Lindsey looks back at Tobin skeptically, “So you guys aren’t…” 

Tobin tilts her head, “...Aren’t?”

“You know.” Lindsey looks at her knowingly, nodding her head towards Christen, “Like. Together?”

“I mean, we’re both here so I guess we’re together,” Tobin replies, not really confirming or denying what Lindsey is really asking. Tobin gestures between the two of them, “Just like we’re together. Here. Right now.” Tobin touches her arm, “You okay?”

“Yeah, what I meant was—”

“Tobin! Lindsey! It’s almost time to eat, come on!” Abby motions for them to hurry up.

Tobin looks back at Lindsey with an excited look, “Ooh. I heard Mr. Boyd made his killer mac and cheese. Come on, before it’s all gone.” Tobin walks towards the kitchen.

Lindsey stares at her for a couple of steps before she finally follows. 

* * *

One of the kids’ tables insisted that Ms. Christen, or Mrs. Claus, sit with them so Christen is sitting cross-legged on the floor while the kids sit in their smaller chairs to accommodate their shorter table. Tobin watches her from another table where she is chilling with the older kids. She smirks as she already knows that she’ll be able to convince Christen to do this again next year with her. 

When Christen gets up to go to the cookie table, Tobin excuses herself from her own table to join her. 

Tobin comes over to where Christen is rearranging the cookies and stands on the same side of the table as her, ready to help in any way, “You doing okay?”

Christen takes a step towards another tray further from Tobin, keeping her eyes focused on the cookies, “Mhm. I’m doing great.”

Tobin tries to step closer, but as she does Christen takes another step further, “Tobin.”

Tobin is confused, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Go over there,” Christen motions to the other side of the table, “so it doesn’t look suspicious.” She motions her head in Lindsey’s direction subtly. 

Tobin looks over to see that Christen is motioning towards Lindsey and furrows her brows, “But we’re not at work.”

“I know, but she could see us.”

Tobin shakes her head, “She doesn’t even know what’s going on.”

“And we have to make sure we keep it that way.” As she continues to arrange and rearrange the cookies on the tray. 

“You know it’s been like a year now.”

Christen rolls her eyes but doesn’t look up, “Almost a year, Tobin.”

Tobin sees that they’re not getting anywhere in the conversation and lets out a long sigh, “They’re fine,” referring to the cookies as she reaches over to grab the tray from Christen, “I’ll take these over.” 

When Tobin goes across the room with the tray of cookies, the kids come up to grab some and talk to Tobin. And even though Christen can’t see her face, the way her shoulders hang tells Christen that Tobin is a little upset behind the smile she’s giving the kids. 

Lindsey sees the way Tobin looks as she walks away from the cookie table. Her expression is a little sad, she thinks, but just for a split second. Once she realizes that the kids are coming her way, her face changes back to her jolly, Santa mode. Lindsey looks back at Christen who stares at Tobin and then down to the kids before she gives out a small sigh, turns, and walks into the kitchen. 

Lindsey starts to think that she was wrong with her hunch before. Maybe Tobin just tried to talk to her again, and like Christen does, she lets her down gently. But tonight, there’s something else about it. Tobin is usually not that affected when Christen turns her down. And Christen never looks like she regrets it, even a little bit. Lindsey chalks it up to them not being at the hospital while they’re working. Maybe it’s the fact that they’re at the rec center and Tobin really thought she had a chance. Not wanting to make her feel any worse, Lindsey doesn’t bring it up again that night. 

If Tobin was ever sad that night, no one would even know it. Even Christen and Lindsey can’t seem to find any trace of fakeness in her smiles. As she interacts with the kids and the adults around them, she laughs wholeheartedly and engages everyone around her. She’s definitely the heart of the party, as Santa Claus should be. 

Tobin and Christen don’t interact much but no one seemed to notice anything off since they were preoccupied with the kids anyway. 

After the Christmas carols were sung, it was time for presents. The kids make a competition out of who could rip open the mostly-tape-covered presents the fastest. Syd puts a consoling hand on Christen’s arm with a grimace that reads, _don’t feel too bad about your wrapping job, at least the kids are having fun with it._ Christen just laughs it off and shrugs, accepting that she probably shouldn’t wrap the presents next year.

After presents, it was finally time to get everybody home. Once the leftovers are packed and divvied up, the goodbyes start. The kids chatter nonstop with Santa and Mrs. Claus, soaking up all the time they can with Santa’s Helpers before they turn into regular Tobin and Ms. Christen the next day.

Soon, only the group of volunteers from the morning are left. They put away all the tables and chairs and clean up most of the mess before Abby and Glennon finally kick everyone out. 

* * *

On the ride home, Tobin recalls some of her favorite parts of the day while asking Christen about hers. And Christen gets lost in the conversation as well.

“Hey, seriously though. Thanks for being my Mrs. Claus today.”

Christen smiles, “It wasn’t so bad. And you were right, when the kids saw us…” Christen trails off but Tobin knows what she means by the wistful look in her face. 

“Right? It’s the best feeling.”

Christen nods, “Yeah. And,” Christen rolls her eyes, “I guess it was better than spending Christmas in the ER.”

Tobin laughs and shakes her head, “With your drunk Santas.”

Christen will never get tired of hearing Tobin laugh, “Yeah, I’m glad I grew out of that phase.”

Tobin gestures to her suit that she still has on, “Well…”

Christen is quick and points at her, “Ah, but you see? You don’t drink. Different species.”

It almost feels as though they never had their little conversation earlier, but Christen knows she needs to say something later instead of brushing it off. 

When they finally get into the apartment, she’s suddenly nervous so she does the only thing that will calm her down right now. Tobin has already put away all the leftovers in their fridge and is about to walk past her to get to the bedroom when Christen grabs her by the lapels of her Santa jacket and kisses her. Tobin immediately responds, putting her hands on Christen’s hips covered in the velvet of her Mrs. Claus dress. 

Christen deepens the kiss and turns them so she can walk Tobin backwards into the bedroom. One hand comes up to hold Tobin’s jaw and neck while the other is stretched out to push against the hallway walls that they bump into blindly on their way there. 

Once they get into the bedroom, they stop in the middle of the room. Christen continues to kiss her until her nerves go away. It’s hot and intense. Until Christen can feel herself calm down enough to slow down the kiss and eventually pulls away after a few light pecks. 

She backs her face away to see Tobin still with her mouth slightly open and eyes closed as she lightly groans. 

“Are you ready to tell me what’s got you so nervous, sweetie?”

Of course Tobin can tell when something’s bothering Christen. She never fails to be extra gentle and patient with her as she calms herself down enough to talk about it. Of course, it helps Tobin notice when her method of calming down is to kiss and hold Tobin so close to her body until she can’t think of anything else but just existing with Tobin, because Tobin makes everything okay. Even when she can’t help, her presence just makes everything seem possible.

Christen smiles, just taking in Tobin’s beautiful face. Her girlfriend’s beautiful face.

As Tobin slowly opens her eyes, Christen gets serious and speaks, “We need to have some ground rules.”

Tobin raises an eyebrow as she changes her tone and smirks, “Are we trying something new?”

But Christen doesn’t acknowledge her question. She has to continue if she wants to get through this so she rushes out, “We can hug, maybe side-hug to start, but we definitely can’t hold hands. Or kiss. Well not in the middle of the floor. If you really want to kiss me, we have to go to the stairwell or an empty room or something. And it’s just a kiss, we’re not gonna be making out. And if—“

Tobin cuts her off while bringing her hands up to find Christen’s and pulls them in between their bodies, “Whoa babe. Calm down. It’s okay, just breathe.”

Christen looks at Tobin and they take a breath together before Tobin continues, “Now…” And a confused look takes over Tobin’s face, “What?”

Christen sighs and says quietly, “You can tell people at work about us.” She looks away from Tobin’s eyes and focuses on her nose instead before she adds, “If you want.”

Tobin pauses for a second to study Christen’s expression before she ducks her head down to try and meet her eyes. When Christen finally looks Tobin in the eyes again, Tobin asks, “Do you want to tell people about us?”

Christen shrugs, because she really doesn’t know.

“Chris?”

“I don’t know, Tobin.” She sighs, “I’ve never really dated someone at work before.”

Tobin shakes her head, “Chris, if it makes you uncomfortable, then I don’t want to tell them. Not until you’re ready.”

Chris throws her hands up, frustrated with herself, “But who knows when I’ll be ready. Maybe we should just do it and then see how it goes. I’ll adjust or something.”

Tobin furrows her brows, “Why are we talking about this if you’re not even sure if you’re ready baby?”

Christen starts to tear up as she says, “Because when I told you to hide it from Lindsey, it made you sad.”

Tobin’s face softens in realization. She hadn’t meant for Christen to see her face fall a little when she pushed her away. To be honest, she was a little sad about it, maybe for a second, but that thought quickly escaped her mind when she thought about her relationship with Christen. She didn’t need anyone to know about it. She had really just wanted to be close to Christen at the time.

She doesn’t lie though, “Yeah, for like a moment.”

Christen shakes her head, tears falling, as she whispers, “That moment felt like forever to me. I don’t want to make you sad.”

“Babe—”

Christen brings her hands up to cup Tobin’s face, “No, I… You’ve been so patient with me. And you’re this amazing person who just gets along with everyone and you like to share things with people and talk to people and make them laugh. And the rec center. Those kids. God Tobin, you’re just so _good_.” Christen takes a breath before she adds, “I don’t want you to have to hide any part of yourself for me.”

Tobin brings her hands up to cup Christen’s on her face. She turns her head to the left to kiss the palm before looking Christen in the eyes again, “I don’t care if people know or not. I just don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” 

Christen lowers their hands until they’re resting on her chest. She kisses Tobin’s knuckles as more tears start to fall, “I think that as long as you’re happy, I’ll be fine.”

Tobin brings her hand up to wipe her tears away, “I love you, you know that?”

“I had a hunch.”

Their foreheads find each other as they smile. 

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look in this dress?”

Christen leans back to look at Tobin’s lips, “I don’t remember.”

Tobin moves closer until their lips are brushing against each other, “Well, you do.” And Tobin kisses her.

The kiss turns hungry in a matter of seconds with their hands everywhere. 

“Rip this dress off of me.”

“No wait. We can’t rip it, we’ve gotta use it next year.”

“You know what I mean, come on.”

Christen turns around so Tobin can unzip her but Tobin doesn’t move. When Christen turns back around to see what’s going on, she sees Tobin smirking at her.

Christen is suspicious, “What?”

Tobin finally slowly unzips her as she kisses down the skin that gets exposed, “You just agreed to be my Mrs. Claus again next year.”

Christen lets out a small moan, “We’ll talk about it.”

Tobin just laughs as she spins Christen around and tilts her head so she can kiss behind her ear while pulling the dress down. When she pulls the dress below her chest, she backs away to take Christen in. She smirks, “You bought a matching bra.” Christen nods. “For me?”

“It’s not really your size.”

Letting the dress fall to the ground, Tobin suddenly flips Christen on to the bed and she laughs. 

Christen uses one hand to pull at her jacket and the other hand to push down her pants not knowing what she wants Tobin to take off first but that they need to come off, “Take these off.” 

Tobin stands and quickly sheds her jacket and her pants until she’s standing there in just her white t-shirt and red boxers. “Matching boxers, for me?” Tobin just nods as she takes off her shirt and crawls back on top of Christen. 

Just as Tobin reaches Christen’s lips to kiss her, Christen lifts her hips to get as close to Tobin as possible. Tobin settles herself with one leg between Christen’s thighs and puts her whole weight down as they both moan into each other’s mouths. 

Just as it starts to speed up and their breathing gets shallower, Tobin’s phone vibrates. Tobin tries to find her phone in her pants pocket on the floor while still kissing and grinding into Christen. When she can’t, she stops her movements and turns her head to see what she’s doing. Christen continues, attaching her lips to Tobin’s exposed neck as her head is turned and continues to rock her hips up towards Tobin. 

Tobin finally finds her phone and looks at the screen, “It’s AD.” 

Christen continues to kiss her neck, “Don’t.”

Tobin turns her head back and Christen looks up at her, “Babe, I literally got today off for you. _Me_. They’ll find someone else.” She loves that Tobin is so selfless all the time, but this isn’t one of those times. 

“Yea but what is she needs help with—“ Tobin stops to let out a long moan, grinding herself into the hand that found its way into her boxers.

“It feels like you need help, baby. Let me help you.” To emphasize her point, she bucks her hips up, pushing her hand further into Tobin, causing her to drop her head into Christen’s neck and let out a deep groan. 

Tobin drops her phone back on the ground. She lifts her head and brings her face to Christen’s and brushes their lips together as she nods and says, “Okay,” before kissing her and moving her hands to pull her boxers down. 

* * *

Christen rolls off of Tobin, both still coming down from their highs. Christen looks over at the clock that now reads 12:08AM and smiles. _One year._

She turns back towards Tobin and puts a hand on her chest, kissing her shoulder, “Happy Anniversary, baby.”

Tobin laughs and turns her head towards Christen with a dopey, lovesick smile, “Happy Anniversary.”

Christen leans down to kiss Tobin one, two, three more times before she snuggles in Tobin’s side.

Tobin takes a deep breath and sighs, “Happy Anniversary,” one more time before kissing the side of Christen’s head and giving in to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I failed the oneshot challenge and this became a oneshot+. Thank you all for your kind comments on the first part of this story. They inspired me to write another chapter in this world and hopefully it provided you with even a little of what you were missing from the first chapter.
> 
> Happy Holidays!


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